Battle of Cabezón

Battle of Cabezón
Part of the Peninsular War
Date 12 June 1808 Location Cabezón de Pisuerga, near Valladolid, Spain 41°44′00″N 4°38′47″W / 41.7333°N 4.6464°W / 41.7333; -4.6464 Result French victory
Belligerents
Spain	First French Empire
Commanders and leaders
Gregorio de la Cuesta	Jean-Baptiste Bessières Antoine Lasalle
Strength
300 regular cavalry 4,700 militia 4 guns[1] Total: 5,000	9,000 regulars
Casualties and losses
1000 dead[2]	50 dead[3]

The Battle of Cabezón was an engagement early in the Peninsular War on 12 June 1808 between a small Spanish militia force, based in Valladolid, and a detachment of Marshal Bessières' French Army Corps under General Lasalle.^[2]

Battle[]

At Cabezon, a village surrounded by vineyards, near the Pisuerga, Lasalle had scouted the Spanish position. He ordered General Sabatier to attack them, while Merle cut them off from retreating to Valladolid. They stood the enemy's fire about 30 minutes, then began to flee, leaving behind a 1000 dead and 4000 muskets. Cuesta, with the remains of his army, retired to Leon.^[2]

See also[]

• Timeline of the Peninsular War

Notes[]

References[]

• Gates, David (2001). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81083-2.
• Southey, Robert (1828). History of the Peninsular War. Vol. I (New, in 6 volumes ed.). London: John Murray. Retrieved 6 May 2021.